Family Name:
Little
Given Names:
Ian John
Gender:
Male
Birth-Date:
Unknown, possibly 1937
Death-Date:
Unknown
Marital Status:
Unknown, probably single
Age:
18 years old
Location:
NSW, Annadale
Occupation:
University Student
Primary Motivation:
Conscientious Objector, religious
Reason for Court Appearance:
Application for exemption from combatant military duties as a conscientious objector
Court Name and Location:
Special Court, Sydney
Court Hearing Date:
January 1956
Court Outcome:
Application was dismissed
Military Event:
National Service 1951-1959
Further Information:
Ian Little was from Annadale, a suburb of Sydney. He was a member of the Methodist Church and an Engineering student at Sydney University. Based on his religious beliefs he applied for exemption from combatant military duties as a conscientious objector under the National Service Act 1951 (NSA). His court hearing was at the Special Court at martin Place in Sydney early January 1956. The hearing was heard by Magistrate McCauley. Ian explained that he had already undertaken 3 months of military training under the NSA and that he had no objection to serving in a non-combatant capacity. He was asked by Mr Braund, Legal Counsel for the Department of Labour and National Service, to point out anything in the Bible forbidding a person defending himself or his country from an attacker. Ian said, he would follow Christ’s example…Christ did not protect himself. Braund said, If you were attacked by somebody what would you do? Ian responded, I think God would preserve me from that. The magistrate then said that Little obviously did not know his Bible and he suggested he should not be blinded by what other people put to him. He continued, I advise him not to read bits of the Bible but to read the whole of it. The magistrate dismissed the application. It is unknown if Ian appealed against this decision.
Confirmatory Sources:
Peacemaker, January/ February 1956, p.2.
THE AUSTRALIAN PEACE HONOUR ROLL 